This application is a divisional of prior U.S. application Ser. No. 09/184,758 filed on Nov. 2, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,580,723.
A cable modem network includes a head end located at a cable company central location. The head end distributes cable services to different local areas of subscribers. Subscriber stations are terminated by cable modem boxes that are connected to the subscriber's computer through a conventional data interface such as serial or Ethernet. The cable modem boxes allow the subscribers to transmit data back upstream on the cable network to the head end. For example, if a subscriber wishes to order a pay-for-view movie, the subscriber enters a selection that is transmitted by the cable modem back over the cable network to the head end. The head end then transmits a downstream signal to the subscriber with the selected movie.
With the installation of more subscribers on cable modem networks, it becomes more important to allocate bandwidth more efficiently on the cable return path. For example, different types of transmissions, such as voice traffic may require a higher priority than data traffic. Alternatively, certain subscribers may need to purchase more bandwidth or higher priority than other subscribers. Current cable modem systems do not efficiently allocate cable bandwidth over the return path.
Accordingly, a need remains for a cable access system that allows multiple users to both send and receive information in an orderly and efficient manner.